1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cooling, improvements on cooling, apparatuses for cooling and in particular cooling beverages in their container.
There are plenty of refrigeration systems for a very wide variety of applications in the chemical processing, pharmaceutical and food industry. Fast chilling used to bring substances or food to low temperatures usually involves cryogenics i.e. direct or indirect contact with boiling liquid gases that have a boiling temperature much lower than the freezing point of water. Most refrigeration systems are used to chill air that acts as a heat transfer media between a refrigeration system cooling heat exchanger and an object desired to be chilled. There is a kind of refrigerating systems that consist of a refrigerating fluid that is circulated through a piece of equipment that is designed to make direct contact with a material or substance to be chilled. Nonetheless, none of these systems is designed and meant to rapidly (in a matter of minutes or even seconds) chill one or more beverages in their respective closed containers to bring them to a temperature desired for consumption or sale.
2. Description of the Related Art
Refrigeration is used to extend the shelf life of perishable beverages but also to maintain them at a temperature where they are more enjoyable when served. Perishable beverages need to be kept cold since when placed in their containers and at all times during handling, transportation and storage until consumed or sold. Refrigeration systems that chill a perishable beverage and maintain it cold as it is transported to its container rely on direct contact between the perishable beverage and the cooling heat exchanger of said refrigeration system. Once the beverage is containerized and packaged, packages with containerized beverages are placed in coolers that rely on circulation of cold air acting as a heat transfer media between a refrigeration systems cooling heat exchanger and the packages containing containerized beverages. Heat transfer takes place at a slow rate between the cooler's cooling air and the beverages inside of containers inside of packages, it can take hours for the beverage or beverages in their containers inside of packages to reach thermal equilibrium with the cooler's cooling air.
This also applies to non-perishable containerized beverages that are placed in a cooler or a merchandiser until consumed or sold. Non-perishable containerized beverages do not need to be kept cold since when packaged and can be stored at room temperature to later be moved into a cooler as needed along it is done with enough time ahead before their consumption to allow enough time for them to reach a desired temperature. Energy is spent to bring non-perishable containerized beverages to a desired consumption temperature and also energy is spent to maintain them cold until they are served or sold. In addition, plenty of cooler storage space is needed to allow enough time for a non-perishable containerized beverage to reach a desired temperature and enough time to be kept cold (often also displayed) until consumed or sold.
The present invention provides an option for a non-perishable containerized beverage consumer or merchant where he/she can store non-perishable beverages at room temperature and only chill them in a matter of minutes immediately before being served or sold.